United States of America

The airplane was in a normal appearing climb after takeoff when it pitched up to a 70° to 80° attitude, stalled, dropped the right wing, then leveled the wings and hit the ground in a near-flat attitude. The weight and cg were within limits. No preimpact problems were found that could cause an inadvertent pitchup. Pilot's only memory is that he couldn't get the control column far enough forward to stop the pitchup. The pilot's seat was found in the full forward position with the right locking pin in the locking hole and the left pin 1/4th of an inch forward of the front locking hole. There were no visible marks on either of the locking pins. Deep scratches were found on the sides of the rail where the seat attachments normally slide back and forth when the seat is adjusted. Exam of the outboard side recessed surface near the aft end disclosed what appeared to be a fresh scratch. The pilot, sole on board, was seriously injured.

The aircraft had not been flown for several years and was on a flight to ferry it to another location. While cruising at 7,500 feet, the pilot decided to start using auxiliary fuel. Shortly after moving the fuel selectors to the auxiliary position, both engines lost power and would not restart. The pilot landed on a road, but the wings struck posts/mailboxes and then the aircraft hit a dirt bank. Fuel samples were taken and a visual examination revealed obvious contamination and discoloration. The aircraft had been given an annual inspection just before the flight. Both occupants escaped uninjured.

The pilot and his wife planned a 30 minutes pleasure flight to Lake Tahoe. Prior to departure the pilot failed to visually inspect the amount of fuel in the right wing tank. The tank was full. The tank's cap probably appeared to be secured when, in fact, because of a unique design characteristic, it was merely resting on top of the filler neck. Upon takeoff rotation the cap came off the filler neck and it was followed by a fuel spray. The pilot responded and stayed in a very low altitude and close-in traffic pattern. He attempted to land immediately. He lost control during the turn to final, stalled and collided with the pavement prior to reaching the threshold. Both occupants were killed.

The pilot borrowed the aircraft to fly a musical group to Kalispell for a private engagement at Lakeside, MT, which was approximately 15 miles south of the airport. That evening, the group boarded the aircraft for the return flight. After takeoff, the aircraft was seen flying at low altitude in the vicinity of where the musical group had performed. The aircraft was observed at a very low altitude when it entered an abrupt climb, then went into a wingover or hammerhead stall type of maneuver and reversed direction. However, before recovering from the ensuing dive, the aircraft crashed on wooded terrain. Witnesses said the engines appeared to be running normally. A test of the pilot's blood showed a slight amount of alcohol; however, there were indications this was due to putrefaction. All 10 occupants were killed, among them six members of the 'Montana Band' and their manager.
Montana Band members were:
Curt Bergeron,
Clifford Tipton,
Allen Larson,
Grady Whitfield,
Terry Robinson
Dale Anderson,
Tom Sawan, Band's Manager.

The crew departed Pope AFB and was completing a LAPES demonstration flight at Fort Bragg AFB. A first demo was completed successfully. During the second approach, the pilot-in-command descended too fast and the flare was done too late. The aircraft landed had and rolled for about 1,000 meters before coming to rest in a wooded area, bursting into flames. Four crew members as well as one people on the ground were killed. Two others crew members were injured.

The pilot and three passengers were returning to Dallas, TX from a retreat in Montana. The pilot filed an IFR flight plan from White Sulphur Springs, MT, to Casper, WY, but did not activate it after departure. The aircraft was reported overdue by family and a search was initiated. The wreckage was located by the civil air patrol on 7/1/87. The aircraft had crashed at the 10,000 feet level of a box canyon area in mountainous terrain. The impact area was on a rolling meadow that was surrounded on three sides by mountains. Entrance to the area was from the north-northeast. There was evidence the aircraft impacted in a left wing low, nose low attitude, after turning to a heading of about 050°. Before takeoff, the pilot had added 35 gallons of fuel (mixture of 80 and 100 octane fuel) for an estimated fuel load of 213 gallons. No evidence was found of a preimpact mechanical failure or malfunction. Approximately 27 miles south-southeast of Cody, WY, the weather was in part: 18,000 feet scattered, 25,000 feet overcast, 30 miles visibility. The elevation at Cody was about 5,000 feet lower than the crash site. All four occupants were killed.